From "The Bachelor" to bride &mdash; Chico's Shawntel Newton is engaged

Chico's celebrity/funeral director didn't find love on the reality dating show "The Bachelor," but in a roundabout way, her appearance on television led to her dream guy.

Newton and her betrothed, Paolo Poidmore, an orthodontist, will walk down the aisle in May. The couple flashed their smiles for engagement photos last weekend.

He's everything she had hoped for, Newton said during an early-morning chat at a Chico coffee house.

They share a strong Christian faith, come from warm, loving families, want to raise their own family and have fun together.

Poidmore, 32, who lives near Sacramento, also has no qualms that she is a funeral director and embalmer, nor that she once sought love on a reality TV show.

In fact, Poidmore's sisters tried to talk him into being on "The Bachelorette." He went so far as to start the interview process, but decided it wasn't for him.

Once upon a time

The love story began in April when Newton was helping a family with their arrangements. A father had died and Newton was working with his son, Jason White, who had braces.

"He randomly asked if I was single."

Newton, 27, said she was hesitant, because people sometimes try to set her up. The man said he knew of a "good looking Italian," a Christian, who was his orthodontist. The man said he felt like he knew Newton from the show and "would you be up for meeting him?"

She gave the man her business card.

May 8, Poidmore sent an email and the two started to get to know each other. He soon called and the connection by phone got even better.

Unable to match their weekend schedules, Poidmore drove to Chico on a weekday, May 22, and Newton made a restaurant reservation.

Unbeknownst to Newton, the owner set up the back patio like "a scene from 'The Bachelor'."

They had the entire deck to themselves, with candlelight. Newton said she was embarrassed that her date might think she had planned the whole thing.

Afterward they went for yogurt, and took her new puppy Bailey for a walk.

Poidmore soon wanted to see her again. Newton's grandmother was visiting, so the Newton family members were assembled, and Poidmore met them all.

"I could see myself with him," Newton recalled.

The next weekend, Poidmore's family was gathered for a graduation in Roseville, so Newton was introduced to his large Sicilian family.

"They are a very close family, which is important," Newton said.

Talks grow more serious

As they began to get closer, they sometimes talked about where they would live if they got married. Poidmore said he would be willing to relocate his orthodontist practice to Chico, because he knew how important work was for Newton.

Her beau had just started his orthodontist practice, but Newton had planned to continue with her family's business, Newton-Bracewell Chico Funeral Home.

"With a lot of prayers and talking to family," Newton decided that she'll relocate to the Roseville area.

Her background is in grief support. "I have that gift to talk to people during a hard time. That's not going to leave me," she said.

Poidmore is a member of the Bayside Church in the Sacramento area, where Newton said she can work in grief ministry or wherever else she is led. Or perhaps a funeral home in the area will need some help.

She'll miss her close family, "but my life is going to be in Roseville with Paolo."

"Another thing with Italians — they want babies," she said, smiling.

The proposal

As for the proposal, the two had talked about the possibility of marriage. Newton thought this was the direction things were going, but had no idea when he might ask.

In October the couple joined Poidmore's family at Apple Hill. She noticed her beau was a little jumpy that day, and extra quiet.

They had plans that evening to meet his sister and husband for dinner, and took a break at Poidmore's house.

He asked Newton if she wanted to do some Bible study. This wasn't unusual, but the timing seemed odd, she recalled.

He read some verses and "the whole time he was really red in the face and sweaty. He was nervous and shaky," she said.

Inside the Bible, which was new and very large, he showed her where "Poidmore Family" had been engraved.

Soon he was on his knees and proposing.

After tears and hugs, and the appropriate reply, Newton asked if Poidmore had asked her dad for permission. She was also eager to call home with the good news.

Poidmore had thought of all that, and his parents, as well as Newton's parents, were all waiting for them at the restaurant.

The ring

The ring was another well-planned story.

Newton likes to look on Pinterest, an online photo website. She had marked a few rings on her site, all which had a vintage look.

Poidmore saw them and knew what to look for. Also, one of Newton's friends became engaged in September. As women do, Newton tried on her ring for fun, which was the right size. The girlfriend made a very strong point of passing this information along to Poidmore.

Now, things have shifted into planning mode, with the nuptials in May. Newton joked that she spends more time corresponding with the wedding planner than she does chatting with her fiancé.

After her appearance on "The Bachelor" in 2011 and another guest appearance in March 2012, Newton dated some, and learned more about what she did and did not want in a husband.

"My grandmother said 'it will happen when you least expect it.'

"It did happen when I least expected it. It happened at the funeral home."

Staff writer Heather Hacking can be reached at 896-7758, hhacking@chicoer.com, and followed on Twitter @HeatherHacking.